Mail-bag receiving and delivering apparatus.



R. .I. HARLEY. MAIL BAG RECEIVING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0. 1914.

' Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-5IIEET I.

R .JHar

THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PNo'm-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. c

R. l. HARLEY.

MAIL BAG RECEIYING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. m4.

1,141,793.. Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ra Earl THE NORRIS PETERS 00.. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D.

R. LIHARLEY.

MAIL BAG RECEIVING-AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, I914.

' Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE NORRIS'PETERS 60-, FHOTU-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D. C 1

R. I. HARLEY.

MAIL BAG REGElVlNG AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. 1914.

1,141,793. Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- R Jliarlej THE NOR'RIS PETERS CO., PHOm-LITHO" WFE'JINCTUIV I) C "tJNiE ROBERT J. HARLEY, OF REED CITY, MICHIGAN.

MAIL-BAG RECEIVING AND DELIVERING APPARATUFS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1915.

Application filed April 10, 1914. Eterial N 0. 831,027.

To all. whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, ROBERT J. HARLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Reed City, in the county of Osceola and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Receiving and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail bag receiving and delivering apparatus; and it has for its primary object the provision of apparatus of this character in which the mail matter will be handled expeditiously and with the minimum possibility of its being in jured during the collecting and delivering operation.

Another object of the invention is the v provision of apparatus of this character which will consist respectively of receiving and delivering means adapted to be mounted at the station, and cooperating collecting and delivering means mounted on the car, and further, the provision of means on the car and means on the platform for rendering the device operative irrespective of the direction of movementof the car. In other words, I contemplate the provision of mechanism which may be rendered active where the rolling stock is adapted to travel on a single track. 7

Another object of the invention is the provision of collecting mechanism on the car and means carried thereby and adapted to be rendered active for an effective gripping of the bag immediately on the collecting operation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of receiving mechanism on the platform and means for normally holding the mechanism active to a collection of the bag from its coacting mechanism of the rolling stock, and further the construction of such means which may be actuated directly by the car and in successive'order of the delivering of the bag.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of receiving and delivering mechanism which is mounted upon the car and disposed with such regard to the door opening as will permit said means to be readily moved in the direction of the opening for the manipulation of the mail bag.

With these and other objects in view,'the

- delivering device of invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter describedand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan view through a portion of a railway car, showing the application of the ag delivering and receiving devices thereto and illustrating an operative receiving position of the receiving device with the the platform; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of a car provided with bag delivering and receiving devices in accordance with my invention. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the plane indicated by the line 33 of Fig. 2 and showing the delivering device in operative position. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the receiving device of the car. Fig. 5 is a similar View of the delivering device of the car. Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the delivering device of the platform. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the receiving device of the platform. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of a portion of a car provided with the actuating elements for controlling the trip mechanism on the receiving device of the platform. Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of the vertical block in which the trip shaft is interchangeably mounted.

The car A herein illustrated is provided with the usual door opening B and exteriorly of the car and mounted adjacent to one side of the door opening and near the top thereof is a receiving device 1 which consists of a swinging arm 2 pivoted at 3 to the car, so that it may freely swing in a horizontal direction.

Fixed to the car is a guide block 4 having a lug 5, in which is formed a guide opening 6, which slidably receives a guide rod 7. This rod is mounted at 8 to the arm 2 of the receiving device and, as shown, the rod is surrounded by a spring 9 whose ends are respectively interposed between the lug and the arm 2, so that under the normal action of the spring, the arm tends to move in the direction of the door opening of the car. In this manner the receiving device may be made to lie in a relatively compact and. fiat manner against the side of the car when not in use, so as not to form an ob struction to objects that may be withm striking distances of the car.

A cooperating gripping arm 10 is pivoted to the arm 2, and as shown, said pivoted arm is provided with a grlpping passage 11 1 through which an arcuate gui e rod 12 of the arm 2 extends. The guide rod is thread-- ed at its upperend and mounted thereon is an adjusting nut 13 and interposed between the nut and the arm 10 is a spring 14 under the action of'the latter serving to cause the arm 10 to normally move into cooperating clamping relation with the said arm 2.

In order to provide means for hold ng the arm 10 in a receiving position relatlve of the arm 2 when the receiving device is set in the position shown in Fig. 1, and to further employ such means that may be directly actuated by the bag when it is received from the delivering device of the platform, 1 cmploy a keeper 15 pivoted at 16 to the arm 2 and provided with a portion 17 which is adapted to engage in a recess 18 in thearm 10 and thereby hold the arm against the action of the spring 14:- The said keeper is provided with a tail 19, by which it maybe keeper 7 15.

readily set 'manually when desired. A spring one end of the spring 1s fixed to said arm, as at 21, and beyond such point the spring 20 extends longitudinally over the upper surface of the arm 2, and as shown is slightly spaced from thearm so that it may be moved with relation thereto and the free end of the spring is then extended through a passage 22 in the arm 2 and then 7 said free terminal of the sprmg will be ping arm 26.

thereof from the recess moved and motion will be imparted to the keeper, so as to release the said porti0n'17 described in the arm 10. V (I The delivering device which is mounted on the platform C shown conventionally in Fig. 1. consists of a main standard 23 which is connected as at 2%, to a relatively short fixed standard 25 which rises from the platform. The upper end of the standard 23 is bifurcated at 24: and pivoted between the branches 25 of such bifurcation is a grip- This arm overlies a fixed arm 27 carried by the standard 23. The pivoted arm is provided preferably with one or a plurality of anti-friction bodies 28, such as rollersjthat are mounted in the arm so a as to freely revolve and which are adapted to render the bag 3 for removal on the application of slight pull thereon by the receiving device of the car'during the receiving operation, The arm 26 is provided with a tail 29 having a passage 30 therein which .receives an arcuate guide 31. This guide is fixed to the standard 23 and above the tail 29 the guide is threaded for the reception of an adjusting nut 32. interposed between the tail 2 9 and the standard '23. and surrounding said arcuate guidejrod 'is a' spring 33. Under the action of the'spring the arm 26 is normally held in operative arm 27. At this time it is stated that the receiving device of theplatform that will permit the arms .2 and 10 to respectively pass above and I below the arms 26 and 27v of the delivering device ofthe platform. The delivering de vice of the car consists of an arm 34' pivoted to the opposite side of the dooropening B and preferably at a point near the bottom.

of the'ca'r is constructed with such regard to the delivering device thereof. This arm 'is'somewhat similar to the arm in the receivlng device of the car, and as illustrated it is provided with a co acting pivoted gripping arm- -35. The arm 84: has an arcuate guide rod '86 whichextends through a passage '37 in -the'arm-35, and as shown saidrod is threaded at its upper end to accommodate an 'adjusting nut V Y '88. A spring 39 is interposed between the arm 35 and the ad'usting nutand it surrounds the guide 'ro dand under the action of the spring the arm 35}is normallyhe'ld'fin proper clamping position with relation to V the arm 34:.

A retaining device ,o in thejiform' ofz a pivotedrlever mounted inthe door opening of the car is employed for the purpose of engaging the arm'8 1 and thereby holding the same in a delivering position. The arm 3% is provided with a pivoted guide rod 41, V which slidably extends through a guide 7 block 12 mounted at one side of the car. Said rod is surrounded bya springs-.3 and under the action of the latter the arm 34 is adapted to normally move in the direc tion of the door "open ng.

he receiving device of the car must nec essarilybe held at right angles to one side of the car when in a receiving position and in view thereof a pivoted retainer or lever44: may be engaged therewith. I This lever is identical with theform of lever described'at iO-and employed for the purpose ofholdingthe delivering device of the car in operative delivering position. The receiving, device of the platform comprises a standard 45 bifurcatedat l6 and pivotally supporting a; gripping arm 47. The standard 45 supports a'horizontal gripping-arm 48 which underlies the pivoted arm! An arcuate guide rod 49 is fixed to'the tail 50 of the, arm

17, and it is slidable through a slot 51 formed in the standard l5. :A sp ring52 surrounds said rod and its ends are respec- 75 clamping position relative OfltS companion tively engaged against the standard45 and the tail 50, so that under the action of the spring the arm 47 will tend to normally move in a direction of its companion arm 48. The tail 50 of the arm 47 is provided with a continuous horizontal passage 52. At the bottom of the standard is formed a passage 53 having its lower walls provided with relatively olfset depending depressions 54; and 55, which are alined with similar depressions 56 and 57"formed in the lower wall of a recess 58. This recess is formed in a vertical block 58 which rises from the plat form. A trip shaft 59 is interchangeably mounted in the depending oifset portions in the lower walls of the slots 53 and 58. This shaft is provided with a locking branch 60 having at its free end a pin 61 provided with oppositely extending branches 62 and ('33. The opposite end of the shaft is provided with an angular branch 64.

The mechanism herein employedmay be advantageously relied upon for the handling of mail matter from cars that are intended to travel on a road bed having a single track structure. For this reason, it is necessary that means be employed for rendering the receiving means of the platform active for the receipt of a bag irrespective of the direction of movement taken by the car. For this reason the car is provided with indentical trip levers 65 and 66 which are pivoted within the car and which areprovided at their lower ends with controlling branches 67 and 68 that are slidable in guide passages 69 formed in the side of the car.

Now that the construction of the apparatus is clearly described a brief description of its operation may be had, as follows: Assuming that a bag is to be collected by the receiving means of the car and that a bag is to be delivered from the delivering means of the car to the receiving means of the platform when the car is traveling in the direction of the arrow a shown in Fig. 1, a mail bag D may be placed between the arms 26 and 27 of the delivering device of the platform and the receiving device 1 of the car may be set so that its arms 2 and 10 are adapted to respectively move above and below said arms 26 and 27 and to straddle the bag. As soon as slight pressure of the bag is brought to bear against the flat spring'QO of the arm 2, the keeper 15 will be instantly controlled and both arms will be moved into coacting gripping positions against the bag and consequently moved entirely from be tween the arms 26 and'27. The bag to be delivered to the receiving device of the platform is indicated at E, and the delivering device of the car is set so as to effectually grip the bag when the device is in a delivering position. The device is constructed with such regard to the arms 17 and 48 that will permit the bag E to freely pass into the space between the arms 47 and 18 as the car approaches the receiving device of the platform. The controlling levers that are mounted within the car are first actuated so that the branch 68 of the lever 66 is projected for a distance where it will engage the branch 6% of the trip shaft 59. The extension 63 of the pin 61 is extended into its receiving passage in the tail 50 of the arm 47. Through this arrangement it is seen that as soon as the portion 64 is struck by the branch 68 the shaft 59 will be moved and its pin 61 will be released from the arm 47 and the latter will be instantly moved into coiiperative gripping engagement with the arm 48 so as to confine the bag, as will be understood.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention as claimed.

1 claim 1. The combination with a delivering device having relatively movable bag gripping portions, of a receiving device having companion relatively movable gripping portions operable for the passage of the gripping portions of the delivering device therebetween.

2. The combination with a delivering device having relatively movable bag gripping portions, of a receiving device having companion relatively movable gripping portions operable for the passage of the gripping portions of the delivering device therebetween, and means for normally holding said portions of the receiving device spaced relatively when the device is in receiving position.

3. The combination with a delivering device having relatively movable bag gripping portions, of a receiving device having companion relatively movable gripping portions operable for the passage of the gripping portions of the delivering device therebetween, means for normally holding said portions of the receiving device spaced relatively when the device is in receiving position, and means for rendering the said portions active to a gripping engagement with the bag on receipt of the bag between said portions.

4. In mail bag receiving and delivering mechanism, a receiving device having relatively movable gripping portions, means for moving said portions, means for holding said portions against the action of the moving means, a delivering device adapted to pass between the gripping portions of the receiving device, and means for releasing the holding means automatically on predetermined relative positions of the receiving device and the delivering device.

5. In mechanism of the character described, a receiving device having relatively sitions, means for normally holding the porj tions, against the action of the moving means on the 7 means of the receiving device to render the Copies of this patent may be obtained for movable gripping portions, means for moving the portions relatively into gripping pomeans, delivering mechanism on the ear adapted to pass between the relatively movable portions of the receiving device, and car controlling the holding five cents each, byaddi'eseing the Commissioner of Pat ents. Washington, D G. a 

